A high resolution atlas of gene expression in the domestic sheep (Ovis aries)

Sheep are a key source of meat, milk and fibre for the global livestock sector, and an important biomedical model. Global analysis of gene expression across multiple tissues has aided genome annotation and supported functional annotation of mammalian genes. We present a large-scale RNA-Seq dataset representing all the major organ systems from adult sheep and from several juvenile, neonatal and prenatal developmental time points. The Ovis aries reference genome (Oar v3.1) includes 27,504 genes (20,921 protein coding), of which 25,350 (19,921 protein coding) had detectable expression in at least one tissue in the sheep gene expression atlas dataset. Network-based cluster analysis of this dataset grouped genes according to their expression pattern. The principle of 'guilt by association' was used to infer the function of uncharacterised genes from their co-expression with genes of known function. We describe the overall transcriptional signatures present in the sheep gene expression atlas and assign those signatures, where possible, to specific cell populations or pathways. The findings are related to innate immunity by focusing on clusters with an immune signature, and to the advantages of cross-breeding by examining the patterns of genes exhibiting the greatest expression differences between purebred and crossbred animals. This high-resolution gene expression atlas for sheep is, to our knowledge, the largest transcriptomic dataset from any livestock species to date. It provides a resource to improve the annotation of the current reference genome for sheep, presenting a model transcriptome for ruminants and insight into gene, cell and tissue function at multiple developmental stages

“The functional fallacy: on the supposed dangers of name repetition”

Whenever the theme of personal naming comes up, both in academic debate and in public opinion, we encounter a tendency to take for granted that there is some sort of collective interest in the clear and unambiguous individuation of persons through their names. “Society” or “culture”, it is presumed, would not function as well if that failed, so homonymy is automatically taken to be dysfunctional. This kind of explanation carries a deep sense of validity in common sense attitudes and it clearly imposes itself upon all who have discussed this issue over the past few decades, both in history and anthropology. In this essay, I argue that, on the one hand, there are fallacious implications to this explanatory proclivity, to which I call the functional fallacy, and, on the other hand, that it finds its power of evidence in the implicit expectations that characterize late modern thinking concerning what is a person and how persons are constituted. I identify three dispositions that need to be overcome: sociocentrism, individualism and the paradigm of the soul

Literatura e medicina: o território partilhado Literature and medicine: the shared territory

Partindo do texto do escritor português José Cardoso Pires, "De Profundis: Valsa Lenta", em que o autor descreve a afasia pela qual passou em conseqüência de acidente vascular cerebral, são feitas considerações sobre o enfoque da doença por escritores e por médicos. As diferenças apontadas, em termos da forma e do conteúdo dos textos que, na literatura e na medicina, descrevem a doença, enquadram-se no conflito entre as duas culturas, tal como descrito por C. P. Snow, sendo característico da crescente especialização. A inclusão de textos literários no treinamento de médicos e de profissionais da saúde pode ajudar a superar esse hiato, facilitando o entendimento da doença em sua dimensão mais ampla e contribuindo para um melhor relacionamento profissional-paciente.<br>The text De Profundis: Valsa Lenta (De Profundis: Slow Waltz), by Portuguese author José Cardoso Pires, describing the aphasia he experienced after a stroke, was used as a starting point to study the different approaches writers and physician have regarding the disease. The differences in form and content of texts describing the disease in literature and medicine fit in the conflict between the two cultures, as described by C.P. Snow, and are typical of the increasing specialization. The addition of literary texts in training programs for doctors and health professionals may help overcome this gap, making it easier to understand the disease in its broader dimension and collaborating to improve the relationship between patients and professionals

Assessing the diversity of preferences of suburban smallholder sheep keepers for breeding rams in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

peer reviewedUrbanisation in developing countries entails deep changes in the livestock sector and the management of animal genetic resources (AnGR). Sheep breeding around Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) illustrates these changes and the need to coordinate genetic improvement in general and the use of crossbreeding in particular. For this, it is important to understand breeders' choices and improvement strategy, to accompany them within a national plan for AnGR management. In a context of missing market for breeding rams, a stated choice experiment was conducted with 137 farmers, together with a characterisation of herd management practices. This survey analyses farmers' preferences for breeding rams, estimating their willingness to pay (WTP) for different traits (attributes). Their practices were characterised by a high reliance on natural pastures (82% of farmers) and a minority of crossbreeding (23%). The highest WTP was observed for disease resistance. However, the subgroup of farmers practicing crossbreeding showed a tolerance to high susceptibility. A strong preference for the white colour was revealed. Although significant, the influence of sheep body size on decision-making showed a lesser importance, again with a distinct behaviour in the subgroup practicing crossbreeding. These results illustrate the need to take account of the diversity of goals and preferences among smallholder sheep keepers to gain their adhesion to a coordinated genetic improvement framework